


hitting on the coach

by techniclr



Category: Haikyuu!!, haikyuu
Genre: F/M, Smoking, Volleyball, i don't know how to tag to be honest, no beta we die like daichi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:08:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28939719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/techniclr/pseuds/techniclr
Summary: you're a new assistant teacher at karasuno high, which means following around takeda as he goes through his day, everything from boring meetings to the volleyball court, which soon becomes your favorite place in the world. watching karasuno play from the sidelines is invigorating enough, but a certain someone with blonde hair and several piercings keeps commanding your attention - you can't keep your eyes off of ukai, and you decide there's something you're gonna do about it.
Relationships: Ukai Keishin/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20





	hitting on the coach

“T-Takeda-san? I don’t think I can do this!” You stuttered nervously as your mentor, Takeda, steered you towards the steel doors of the gymnasium.

“Nonsense!” He declared with a smile. “Don’t be intimidated by those boys, they’re all your juniors anyway!” 

You almost tripped and the firm grip Takeda had on your shoulder faded away as you approached the intimidating steel doors of Karasuno’s gym.  _ ‘Wow _ ,’ you thought to yourself.  _ ‘These doors look so much more intimidating up close!’ _

The double doors burst open with a clang and you looked up with wild eyes and immediately made strong eye contact with the most intimidating boy in the room. His light brown hair was pulled up in a bun and his doe like light brown eyes looked at you in amazement and wonder, as if he was the first person you’d ever seen. You nervously broke the staring contest only to jump from boy to boy, shocked that each of them wore a mirrored expression. 

Breaking the shocked silence that had fallen over the room, Takeda announced brightly, “This is y/n! She’s my aide and training to be a teacher, so she’ll be acting as my shadow for all my duties, which includes the volleyball club! I’m asking all of you-” he looked pointedly at a boy with a patch of blonde hair and a boy with a shaved head “-to be respectful, kind, and welcoming. And with that, here’s y/n to say a few words!”

You fumbled with your notebook, clutching it close to your chest as a fierce blush worked its way up your neck. “Uh--um, hi? My name is y/n and well.. I guess you already know why I’m here so..” You chuckled nervously and scratched your arm. “S-so...I’m really excited to get to know all of you.” You bowed awkwardly and scurried away behind Takeda, claiming your spot on the bench and burying your face in your notebook to protect against the vacant stares the volleyball team was still giving you. 

The boys continued with their warm-ups, occasionally shooting hard questioning glances your way. You could hear them whispering to each other about you, and it made you squirm uncomfortably. You turned to Takeda, about to excuse yourself, when a man with badly dyed blonde hair and two ear piercings in a tracksuit burst in, announcing they’d wasted enough time already. “Today we’re crackin’ down on serves!” He bellowed. “Everyone line up, you know the drill!” He sounded angry, but you could hear the strong notes of passion in his voice. Even though he had a larger presence than the whole volleyball team combined, you weren’t scared of him; rather, you found yourself drawn to his enigmatic personality and the sharp, catlike grin that spread across his face when someone did something right. You didn’t even notice as practice flew by; you were completely transfixed by how the coach (you guessed) was leading his players around, making sure everyone’s abilities were being maxed out in play. You were so drawn to the display in front of you that the shrill sound of the whistle being blown signifying the end of practice made you jump slightly. You turned to Takeda, speechless. 

“They- they’re-” You stuttered, and to your surprise you saw Takeda smiling smugly. 

“Quite good, right? Ukai-kun practices with them everyday, he’s acting as their fill in coach for the match with Nekoma and he’s quite dedicated to-” 

“Ukai-san…” you murmured, accidentally cutting Takeda off. 

Takeda raised an eyebrow at you. 

“Ah- gomen Takeda-sensei! I realized I didn’t know his name..” you drifted off, eyes wandering back to the blonde haired man, whose back was turned to you. Even looking at his back, you were mesmerized by the rippling of muscles under his shirt as he threw the volleyball in the air and hit a few serves himself. In total awe, you watched him snap his tanned, muscular arm back and let it hit the ball with such ferocity you were momentarily taken aback. 

You gazed at him, thoughts flitting through your mind, and didn’t notice the gym had cleared out. You were so focused on Ukai that when he turned around and made direct eye contact with you for the first time your mouth fell open and your cheeks grew hot. 

He looked at you curiously, eyes flitting to Takeda, and approached with a volleyball tucked under one arm. His shirt stuck to his chest, and it was painfully clear how built he was. You couldn’t have stopped staring if you’d tried. 

“Takeda-sensei!” He called out in a clear voice. “Care to introduce me?”

Was it just you, or was that… flirty?

Takeda started. “Of course, Ukai-kun! I wanted to earlier, but I didn’t want to interrupt the flow of practice. Our boys need as much help as they can get!”

Ukai grimaced. “Yeah, I know. They’re getting a lot better but I still worry about them…” his eyes grew slightly unfocused, and you cleared your throat politely and his eyes snapped to you. 

“Hi, Ukai-san. My name is y/n, I’m here as Takeda-sensei’s aide.” You said, proud that you kept the slight nervous quiver out of your voice. 

“Y/n, huh?” He looked at you in an odd way, as if you had something on your face - almost scrutinizing, but in a respectful way. Whatever it was, it started to make you nervous, and you shifted in your seat. 

You jumped up. “I- I really should be going, my parents get upset if I’m home late!” You declared breathlessly as you speedwalked for the doors. “It was nice to meet you, Ukai-san!” You said without turning around, certain you were on the edge of a nervous breakdown. As you basically sprinted to your bus stop, your mind kept replaying the image of Ukai staring you down as if you were an artifact in a museum. What could have been so interesting about you? Was there something on your face? You checked your reflection in the bus window, to no avail. Well, whatever. You sighed. Tomorrow couldn’t be any worse than today was, right?

* * *

God, why would someone call for morning practice this early? You cracked your eyes open and lifted your head from where it was resting uncomfortably on the bus window, noting Karasuno was almost here. The downside of living almost an hour away was that you had to change two buses to get here on time, and they almost always ran late, so you had to catch the early ones or risk the embarrassment of bursting in late on any meeting that Takeda was in, or worse, volleyball practice. 

You were early, so you decided to camp out on the steps until Daichi got here to open up, but while you were sitting down you heard a familiar  _ thup whoom slam  _ coming from inside the gym. You crept towards the door, which turned out to be open, and wedged your way inside to a surprising sight. 

Ukai stood in the middle of the gym, shirtless, dressed only in thick cargo pants. His usual headband was around his neck, so his hair flopped down over his eyes. Or, it would have, if it wasn't dripping with sweat and plastered to his face. Sweat dripped in beads down his chest, creating tracks through what looked like dirt. His face was also grimy, and he wore a grimace that made a pang of sympathy shoot through your chest. He looked destructive, but.. to himself. 

"Ukai-san?" you called softly. Even though you practically whispered, his head still whipped around, eyes wide, to the point where you stood at the front of the gym. 

He froze where he stood, ball falling from the balanced point where it sat in the cradle of his palm and resounded on the floor of the gym. One moment later, he snapped into action, as if he'd been caught doing something he shouldn't have been. His eyes darted around the room and he jumped into overdrive. "Y/n! You're here early! Well, I was early too so I guess it doesn't matter! Or maybe it does? Anyways I was just! Testing the volleyballs! Who knows if they.. tried to deflate overnight? Can't have our boys practicing with flat volleyballs now can we! I-" He cut himself off when he focused on the crestfallen expression on your face. 

Without thinking, you began to move towards him. "Ukai-san…" you said quietly, approaching him where he stood in the middle of the gym. Your footfalls echoed in the emptiness of the gym. You watched his eyes track the movement of your hand up to his face as your thumb swiped over the shine of dirt and sweat that covered his cheekbone. Looking into his eyes, you saw an unreadable expression… was it fear? "Ukai-san." You said again, more firmly this time. "Are you okay." You meant it as a question, but it came out as a statement. 

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He closed it, then opened it again, and then huffed in frustration. "Come with me," he said gruffly. He ducked past you and grabbed a towel, slinging it over his shoulders. With his toned back to you, he shuffled through his duffel before gesturing to the door. You followed him outside, where he sat on the steps and jammed a cigarette between his lips. You two sat in a loaded silence, the cigarette dangling from his lips unlit, and sounds of nature waking up carrying past in the breeze that flitted around you. 

He finally lit his cigarette, letting it dangle from his mouth. "I work," Ukai started in a rough voice. "I work on the farm in the mornings. So I don't have to be at the store as much. For them, I mean. We can't lose. We won't." He said the last word forcefully, taking a long drag from his cigarette that rested between two fingers, resting his elbow on his thigh. His eyes narrowed like they do when the heat of competition lights up his face, and he was a thousand miles away in a second. "In between all of that I hate to admit it but I don't have the time to get in practice for myself," he bit out bitterly. "I hate it, but it's the only time I have to myself in a day. I come right from the farm, I beat the fuck out of a volleyball, and I hit the showers. Don't worry," he said with a half smile. "I don't walk around all day like this." 

You looked at him with wide eyes, absorbing every word. He looked away nervously, the leg that his elbow rested on jiggling anxiously. 

"I run home from school to get in my track practice." You blurted out. He looked at you, surprised. You forged ahead. "I-I take two buses to get here. The first one is always late, and it's only five miles to the second stop, so I just…" you trailed off. "But only on the way home," you added quickly. "Because..” you swallowed. “I don't want anyone to notice." 

He looked at you intently, watching the slight shifts in your face as you struggled to get the words out. His cigarette burned down to the filter without him noticing and he dropped it, muttering curses under his breath. As he ground it out under his shoe, he said quietly, "You should join me here sometime. If you want." Your head snapped up to look at him, but he was focused on grinding the cig to atoms. 

"I really do want to learn how to serve like that," you replied with a soft smile. He looked up and chuckled. "Of course, princess. Your wish is my command."

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

“Alright! I know all of you have seen y/n around this week! Since we finally have a little break for a team meeting, I think it’s about time you introduce yourselves formally.” Ukai said, scribbling game plans on the whiteboard with the pen cap between his teeth. 

Suddenly all eyes were on you, and you flushed slightly under the unexpected attention. 

A boy with closely cropped dark hair stepped forward and said in a strong voice, “We’re really glad to have you with us, miss y/n. My name is Sawamura Daichi, I’m the captain of the Karasuno volleyball team.” 

Next to him stood a boy with silvery hair and a beauty mark on his cheek. He looked at you and added, “I’m Sugawara Koshi, kind of the number two around here. I play the setter position.” He grinned cheekily.

“A-Azumane Asahi!” You turned your head towards the tall, brown haired boy you’d made severe eye contact with on the first day. He stuttered nervously, “I’m... the ace. W-wing spiker. Uh.. yeah.” He scratched the back of his head and looked away.

You smiled at the three, about to open your mouth to thank them for introducing themselves, when a short boy with hair that stood straight up approached you and bowed deeply. 

“NISHINOYA YUU!” He all but shouted. “LIBERO! SECOND YEAR! ARIGATO GOZAIMASU!”

You stood there with wide eyes, shocked, but before you could react a boy with a shaved head and a startling facial expression approached Nishinoya from the back growling, “Oi...Noya-san… that’s not the way to approach a woman…” 

In the time Noya stood up to look at him, the boy had already picked Noya up and lifted him clear off the ground. “NOYA-SAN!” he bellowed. “DON’T SCARE WOMEN!” With his teammate still flailing in the air, the boy turned to you with a cute smile and introduced himself as Tanaka Ryuunosuke, wing spiker. 

_ What a charismatic duo _ , you thought to yourself. 

“Is-is it my turn?” an orange haired boy asked out loud. A mean looking boy with pin straight black hair smacked him in the back of the head and snapped, “Of course it is, boke. We’re going in order, so obviously you’re next. Or were you not paying attention?” he sneered. 

“No need to be so meeeean, Kageyamaaaa!” whined the orange haired boy. 

He turned to you with big eyes and said out loud, “My name is Hinata Shoyo. I’m a middle blocker. This tall evil looking kid is Kageyama Tobio. He looks mean, but he’s a good setter.” He paused and stared at you for a moment. “I like it when you watch us play.” He concluded. 

The smack of Kageyama’s hand on the back of Hinata’s head was the only sound that reverberated through the gym. Kageyama stuttered, “Wh-why are you being so honest! And I could have introduced myself! Dumbass!” He turned to you, blushing to the tips of his ears, and said simply, “Hey.”

A tall blonde boy with glasses cackled at that, doubling over and causing a kid with a cowlick in his dark hair to giggle too. “Is that your idea of an introduction? Just how thick are you two?” He smirked, turning to you. “Tsukishima Kei. Middle blocker.” The smirk fell off his face and was replaced with a grimace, and he added, “Do your best not to get sucked into all of this. It’s just a club.”

The kid with the cowlick chuckled nervously, and added, “What Tsukki means to say is, it is a club! And that is true! Heh..” He looked around for a lifeline, but no one stepped in. Apparently the team was used to Tsukishima’s pessimism. “Um… So I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi. I’m a pinch server.” He looked at the ground. 

Ukai clapped his hands together sharply, snapping everyone out of it. “Well! That’s that. I’m proud of all of you for all of your hard work and good effort today, but remember tomorrow is our last practice before the match with Nekoma. I expect everyone to come in well-rested. Now, go on and get home to those warm dinners waiting for you. Dismissed.”

The younger boys fell over themselves in their rush to be the first out of the gym, and the older ones straggled behind, talking and laughing. You smiled to yourself, and went to begin the ball collection you usually did after practice with some of the boys. To your surprise, Daichi picked up a ball next to your hand and said, “They make quite the first impression.” You turned and saw a knowing smile on his face, and you laughed. “Yeah, but I liked it. What’s a good team without a little flavor?” you said teasingly. As you two talked and laughed, Ukai shrugged on his jacket, watching your face light up talking to the Karasuno captain with an unreadable expression on his face. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

“Hinata!” Ukai bellowed from his spot on the bench next to you. “Watch the ball! Hit the net one more time and it’ll be one lap flying!”

He sat back down, rubbing his temples. You looked at the deep frown on his face, and he scrubbed a hand down his face. “Jesus Christ, these boys are gonna be the death of me,” he muttered. He reached into his pocket for what you knew were his smokes, and you cleared your throat loudly. 

“Uh- Ukai-san, I believe I needed you to check over these uniform adjustments I had done, let’s go outside so you can see the colors in good lighting,” you said loudly, staring right into his eyes. 

His eyes widened knowingly, and he stuttered out a “Y-yeah. Uh-Takeda, watch the boys for me for a sec. I’ll be right back.” Takeda sent you a knowing wink over Ukai’s shoulder, and you felt your cheeks grow hot. Ukai stood up and walked briskly for the gym doors without looking back, as if he just knew you’d come. You smiled smugly. Right where you wanted him. 

As soon as he was outside, he jammed a hand into his pockets, letting out a string of curses. “Jesus fuck, why I am I so worked up? They’re not terrible, but the idea of losing to Nekoma makes me… fucking livid,” he spit out. “Fuck, where the fuck are my smokes?” 

You watched him sputter around, and an absolutely devious idea popped into your head. You walked up to him, too close for comfort. “I know where they are, Ukai-san,” you said in a low, silky voice. 

He froze. His eyes jumped to you. “You do?” He said breathlessly. 

“I do,” you said simply. “Let me.” You reached forward slowly, slipping your hand into his other pocket. You heard him inhale sharply, eyes trained on your face. Your hand grazed his thigh, and you swore you felt the muscle jump. “Sorry,” you whispered. “Almost got it.” 

He nodded dumbly, watching you as your hand closed around the packet in his pocket and slowly withdrew the carton. 

“Oh damn,” you said lamely, examining the cigarette package. 

“What’s wrong?” He breathed out. 

You clicked your tongue. “No lighter,” you shrugged. “Unless…” you reached behind Ukai, watching his face as you dug your hand into his back pocket, closing around the lighter you knew was there. “Got it,” you breathed. 

Your body was so close to his you could feel the heat rolling off of him in waves, his breath fanning across your face. You could count his lower eyelashes, dark and thick. His lips were mere inches away from yours. With a great amount of self control, you withdrew your hand, using it to pop a cigarette between your lips and click the lighter. “Shit never works,” you muttered, trying to mask the several stages of indecision you just went through in a mere .01 seconds. 

“Yeah,” Ukai said lowly, watching you wrap your lips around the filter and suck in a long drag. You wordlessly offered the lit cigarette to him, raising an eyebrow. “Well?”

He reached for it, taking the opportunity to look anywhere but you, and you used that moment to let the panic and indecision flit across your face. 

“The boys will be okay.” You said firmly, focusing on a sign across the street, looking but not seeing. 

Ukai hung his head. “I know. I just… worry.” He said quietly. “That it’s... me. And they need a real coach. Maybe… I’m not…” his eyes were unfocused. “Enough,” he breathed out. 

You looked at him in bewilderment, one million words at your lips trying to burst out. “Excuse me?!” you hissed. His surprised expression didn’t faze your incoming tirade. “You? Not enough? I can’t imagine that there is any coach, anywhere, that cares more about their team and helping them improve not only as players but also as people, anywhere in this damn nation. Don’t ever say that again, Ukai-san. You love them, and there’s no one better for these boys right now. They need you,” you stepped closer and jabbed your pointer finger at his chest. “So be there for them. We don’t have time for this shit. Maybe after we crush Nekoma. But right now, I need you to get back in there and do what you do best.” You smirked. “Cause chaos.”

You turned around and marched back into the gym, announcing the time for a five minute break to the team. 

Ukai stood there, shocked, and after a moment scrubbed his hand down his face again. “Correction,” he muttered. “ _ You’re _ going to be the death of me.”

****************

After being introduced to the boys, you begin to see them in the halls much more often, and by now you could separate the types of reactions into a few discrete categories. Daichi, Suga, and Yamaguchi always smiled and sent you a little wave, which you returned with a nod of your head. Hinata and Noya would just automatically be on full volume, starling everyone else in the hallway with their ‘ONEGAISHIMASU!’ that was shouted directly at you. You found it endearing. 

The third group was too shy to look directly at you, blushed when they said hello, and generally averted direct contact with you. This group of sweethearts was usually Tanaka, Asahi, and Kageyama. Finally, Tsukishima would make it a point to ignore you completely, which you found hilarious. You’d wave at his back. 

The practice after school that day was draining and repetitive, and instead of watching the boys practice receiving, you found yourself watching Ukai… again. 

He sat next to you today, finally tired enough from morning practice not to be standing all the time, and simply shouted his comments from the bench instead of the sideline. When he got worked up, he’d lean forward or just stand up from the bench to shout, whatever was better. You watched his brow furrow in frustration, a single droplet of sweat drip down his forehead. He seemed more oblivious to your staring today, because of the importance of the training in front of him, but you could tell the boys were actually working well and doing beautifully, and Ukai was just projecting his anxiety onto what he determined were errors in play. You enjoyed watching Ukai become animated and the ferocity jump into his expression, the loudness of his voice, and the curt movements of his arms drew you in. 

Practice was over all too soon, and Ukai held Yamaguchi and Kageyama back to talk about the importance of their positions and other such coach nonsense, and you were kind of bummed you wouldn’t get to talk to him after practice today. As you packed up, you heard a voice behind you. 

“Uh--y/n-san?” Asahi said nervously, looking down at you. “Would you maybe- let me walk you home? I realized how late it was and I couldn’t go home knowing you would be making the long trek alone. I understand if you don’t want me to come with you, but-” he bowed slightly. “Please let me accompany you.” 

Your giggle caused him to look up, and his startled expression just made you laugh harder. “Asahi, that’s very sweet of you,” you began amidst giggles, “but I live an hour away. I switch two buses to get home, and I’m sure it would be out of your way. I don’t mind you coming with me to my bus stop at all though… just, it is far, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Asahi’s face lit up. “Of course I’ll come with you! My house is probably on the way there then! Come on, let’s go before it gets too dark!”

You laughed and slung your bag over your shoulder. “God, you sure are eager to leave huh?”

Asahi sputtered that that absolutely was not the case and you chuckled, and neither of you noticed that as you two walked out, a certain blonde man was staring at your back. 

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> ahh this is an old haikyuu thirst fic I wrote but never posted lol I might write another chapter if yall like this one? follow me on twt @ dimivainlovebot!


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